6 Hacks to Get Free Shipping on Online Orders

Free shipping is really exciting, but free is not always easy to get. Since, shipping costs can add up quickly, we spoke with Chris Rucks from BradsDeal.com to learn three hacks to save money on shipping.

1. Ship to the Store

The first hack on our list is shipping to the store. “You can place your order online, [then] within a few hours the order is available for you,” shares Chris. You can pick it up at a store close to your house for free, and save time that you would have spent searching the aisles! Places like Apple, Best Buy, Dollar Tree, Target and Home Depot all offer in-store delivery.

2. Use Your Email

Next on our list is using your email. Lots of stores like H&M, Guess and TJ Maxx will offer a first-time free shipping code in exchange for your email address. “If you’ve been sitting on an old email address that you don’t use very often, sometimes you can use that as a way to sign up for a website,” suggests Chris. So break out that old, embarrassing kittengirl99@hotmail.com email, and treat yo’self to free some shipping!

3. Get Their App

Our third hack is downloading their app. “A lot of times you can download a merchant’s app from the app store,” reveals Chris. “Shopping through that app – either they’ll give you free shipping on every order that you place […], or sometimes they’ll give you free shipping on the first order that you place.” You can always just delete the app after you shop if you need to free up the space on your phone!

4. Join the Club

Next up, join the club. It’s like an in-store version of Amazon Prime. Stores like Staples, Sears and Bloomingdale’s have their own loyalty programs you can join for free perks. “One of my favorites is the Nike plus program at Nike.com,” shares Chris. “It doesn’t cost you anything to sign up, and then you get free shipping on every order you place through Nike going forward.” This emans you’re saving about $8 to $10 in shipping costs each time!

5. The Gift Card Hack

Fourth on our list is the gift card hack. For stores like Kohl’s, you have to spend $75 for free shipping, but Chris says there’s a way to hack the system! “A great option that we always like to share is if you want to buy like a $25 order, you can add a $50 gift card to your cart,” he advises. “Your order bumps over $75, and now your order is going to ship for free.” And then you have a gift card for next time! This also works if you don’t want to pay for Amazon Prime.

6. More Hacks

Macy’s

Macy’s gives you free shipping on orders over $99 – but if you spend under that amount, you’ll have to fork over $10.95 in shipping. Luckily there’s an easy way around this charge! Did you know Macy’s offers free shipping for all beauty purchases? Simply add a cheap beauty item to your cart, and you’ll automatically get free shipping for your entire order at checkout.

Bon-Ton

The same tactic works at Bon-Ton, which has a free shipping threshold of $75, and a standard shipping charge of $9.95. If you’re looking to buy something at Bon-Ton for less than $75, and don’t want to shell out $10 on shipping, throw a cheap beauty item in your cart, and enter code BEAUTY at checkout for free shipping — AND the chance to pick three free beauty samples to add to your order.

Amazon

Amazon has many items that are available for purchase only if your total order is more than $25. But if you have Alexa, Amazon’s answer to Siri, you can get around that minimum and buy those items on their own. This article from How to Geek explains it step-by-step – but basically you have to set up voice purchasing on your smartphone; add a payment method to voice-ordered purchases; and ask Alexa to order the item you want.

Do YOU have any shipping hacks to share? Sound off on our Facebook page @TheListShowTV.